It's a WalMart Day
by AngelBaby
Summary: Follow Jess through Wal-Mart for a few hours and see what 'life' is like at work.
1. Default Chapter

Ever wondered what would happen if you followed Jess to work for a day? Anyways, this is basically my take on a few hours at work with him. I work at Zellers, which is very similar to Wal-Mart so I can draw from my own experiences. Most of the things in this story have actually happened to my friends or I. Anything with ~'s around them are what Jess wants to say, but has the control not to.  
  
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Jess looked at his watch and frowned. He still two more hours until he could go home. It was amazing how time managed to drag on when he was working here. He sighed and continued stacking the cans in front of him.  
  
"Excuse me, do you work here?" A voice came from behind.  
  
~No, I just walk around the store dressed like this for the hell of it. ~ Jess plastered a smile onto his face, "Yes, sir, I do. How may I help you today?"  
  
"I'm looking for your stationary department, do you know where that is?" The man asked while peering around the store.  
  
~Of course I know where it is! Do you think that during training they didn't tell me where anything was in the store? ~ "Yes, sir I can help you with that right away." Jess smiled and led the man through the aisles to the stationary section, "Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"  
  
"Yes, actually, you can. Do you know where the wrapping paper is?"  
  
Jess nodded and pointed it out to him, "Wrapping paper is in this section. Any left over Christmas wrapping paper would be down the aisle and to your left."  
  
The man looked at the wrapping paper and Jess turned on his heel, preparing to leave.  
  
"Wait, wait a minute! Where's this paper?" The man asked suddenly, shoving a flyer in Jess' face.  
  
Jess looked at the flyer and tried to smile apologetically, "Actually we're sold out of that."  
  
"How did you sell out so quickly? I need the paper! When will another shipment come in?"  
  
~What, do you think I sit around memorizing all of this stuff? ~ Jess looked at the flyer again, "Well, that paper was on clearance so we're probably not going to order any more." Jess shrugged, "Once things go onto clearance they usually sell very quickly. We have many other nice wrapping papers."  
  
  
  
"No, I need this wrapping paper!" The man was shouting now, pointing to the flyer and waving it above his head angrily.  
  
~What do you want me to do about it? Do you think that I can just magically pull it out of somewhere? It's sold out, what more do you want? ~ "If you'd like, I could call some one and they might be able to tell you if any stores in the area are selling that pattern right now."  
  
"I made a special trip just for this paper! Is this how you treat all your customers?"  
  
~Um, yes~ "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but there's really not much that I can do." Jess coughed, trying to cover up his smile. It was amazing how red some ones face could turn.  
  
"I want to talk to the manager! Get me the manager!" The man shouted. Suddenly he grabbed a handful of ribbon and through it onto the floor.  
  
Jess frowned. Every time customers made a mess it meant that he'd have to clean it up, "Yes, sir, I'll go get him right away. If you'll just wait right here." Jess left the aisle and headed towards the nearest phone. He toyed with the idea of simply leaving the man to calm down for half an hour or so, but decided against it. It wouldn't be long before he tore apart the entire stationary section. He reached the phone and dialed the manager's number.  
  
Before saying anything Jess looked around him. It was a good thing he did because the man was standing right beside him glaring. Jess smiled and quickly reassured the man, "Don't worry, we'll get this straightened out." He quickly told Rick, the manager, about the problem and asked him to come to help.  
  
Jess hung up the phone, "Rick will be here shortly." Unfortunately, the man didn't seem to care and continued to mutter under his breath. Jess rolled his eyes and sighed. He glanced at his watch carefully, it usually isn't an idea to give customers the idea that their time isn't valuable, especially when they're this mad.  
  
"Hello," Rick approached the man and held out his hand, "How can I help you?"  
  
The sight of Rick seemed to calm the man down quite a bit. Rick was a big man and wasn't the kind of person that you'd want to mess with, "This kid hasn't been helping me with the wrapping paper! He just says that there's nothing he can do. I didn't come here to be insulted by some stupid kid!" Jess looked at Rick and shook his head. He didn't want to get fired from this job because of what some guy in a bad mood said about him.  
  
"Alright. Jess, we'll talk about that later." Rick looked at Jess before continuing with the man, "Which wrapping paper were you looking for?"  
  
The man showed Rick the flyer and waited for the response. He glared at Jess one final time, "It's the one with the flowers."  
  
"Oh, I see." Rick looked at it for a few moments before saying anything further, "I'm sorry, but this paper has been sold out for a few days now. It actually sold very quickly as soon as the price was lowered. How about you come with me and we can make some calls to find a store that does have the paper."  
  
Jess shook his head as he continued back to where the cans were waiting to be stacked. He hated this part. Everything needed to be put in the right place and needed to be nice looking, or else it would have to be done again later.  
  
Moments later a lady walked by and approached Jess, "I've been looking for soup for the longest time. I haven't been able to find anyone who works in the store! I need to find the tomato soup, I'm in a hurry."  
  
Jess smiled, "Alright, I'll show you quickly." He led her to the next aisle where all of the soup was kept.  
  
"Alright, but I need a certain brand, it's on sale. I don't know where it is." The lady said, glancing at her watch and staring at Jess.  
  
Jess looked across the soup and saw a large sign advertising a sale on soup, "I think that it's this brand you're looking for, and here's the tomato soup." Jess handed her a can and tried to keep a smile on his face. ~Did you even bother looking here? The sign was just up in bright blue for crying out loud. ~  
  
"Yes this is it," The lady turned out of the store and headed towards the cash registers. ~Find the, don't say thanks after I drag myself away from work to help you because your too lazy to find your own soup. ~  
  
Jess once again returned to the cans and glanced at his watch. At this rate he would never finish cleaning the entire foods section. This meant that who ever showed up tomorrow morning and was assigned to clean up the mess left over from the day before would be pretty pissed.  
  
"Jess I need to talk to you!" Rick shouted as he walked towards him.  
  
"Am I fired?" Jess asked with a smile on his face. ~Please say yes, please say yes!~ Rick laughed loudly, "Of course you aren't!"  
  
~Damn~ "Okay, is this about that guy and the wrapping paper?"  
  
"Yes, I just wanted to tell you not to worry about it. We get some customers in who have really bad attitudes. Just forget about it and keep doing your job."  
  
"Uh, thanks Rick. That makes me feel a lot better." Jess replied, uncertainly.  
  
"I'm glad. I could tell that it was bugging you. Anyways, just keep going for another hour and then you can leave. Once you finish foods please go through and work on hardware."  
  
Jess nodded, "I'll do my best." ~Shut up and clean it yourself! ~  
  
It didn't take as long as Jess had thought to finish cleaning all of the food. Most people had left the store and only a few people had problems finding something. Jess made his way to hardware and was just starting when an announcement came on, telling the customers that the store was closed for an evening. Jess smiled happily and quickly walked through the aisles and picked things off of the floor. He walked through the store looking for any customers that might still be in the store.  
  
He was just about to call and say that no one was in the store when he saw a boy walking around the toy section, "Hi, can I help you find anything?"  
  
"No, I'm just looking." The kid responded.  
  
"Well, the store is closed so maybe you can come back tomorrow." Jess replied and looked around, "Where are your parents?"  
  
"Oh, they're waiting outside."  
  
Jess nodded and looked around, this time hoping that he might see some one who could help him out, "Well, how about you tell your parents to come back tomorrow. The store's been closed for awhile so nobody's going to be able to ring up your purchases."  
  
"Okay. See you tomorrow!" The kid responded and ran towards the store's exit.  
  
Jess sighed as he headed upstairs to grab his coat just a few minutes later. He was tired from walking around so much and having to reach up to put things away.  
  
"How was your day?" Ellie, one of the girls who worked in fashion asked.  
  
"Same as usual." Jess put on his coat and headed out to his car.  
  
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The end.  
  
Or is it?  
  
I would like to make a second chapter to this story but need to know if anyone is interested. If you want to see Jess have to work in the fashion section and deal with a bunch of women asking for help figuring out their bra size, raise your hand. Seriously though, just tell me if you want me to continue. 


	2. Panty hose and Bras

            Once again things in ~'s are Jess' thoughts.  I work in the fashion section and all of these ideas were drawn from things that actually happened to me or my friends at work. (Except the part about being begged to work in fashion)  I know that it is a bit stereotypical that Jess feels that only girls work in the fashion section, so for the record it isn't really true.  However most guys that I know seem to feel that way when asked to help out, so I decided to throw that in there.

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"It's an emergency."     Rick said, with a pleading look in his eyes.

~If it was a real emergency you'd get down on your hands and knees and kiss my feet~ "Why can't you ask Joe or Mark?  I'd really rather not…"

"Jess, please.  Kate didn't show up today and we really need you down there.  Ellie's down there, she's really nice and she'll help you out.  We'll let you work in men's fashion or in shoes.  Please, it's an emergency." Rick beseeched.

Jess rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine, I'll do it.  But just this once, okay?"

Rick nodded enthusiastically, "That's fine, just as long as you'll help out today.  I promise never to ask you again."

Jess rubbed his forehead as he was led down to the change rooms.  What was he getting himself into?  It almost seemed like a rule that only girls worked in the fashion section.

"Hi Jess!  Thanks so much for helping me!" Ellie practically jumped up and down for joy and rushed forwards.

~Please don't hug me~ "No problem." Jess muttered.

"It's not really that hard," Ellie continued, stopping a short distance before Jess before taking a step backwards.

Jess noticed her take a step back and smirked ~she must be a mind reader~

"Just take clothes off of that rack and put it into a shopping cart and then put it back where it belongs.  Make sure everything goes into the right place or else customers get pretty angry" Ellie picked up a sweater and showed him the tag, "The tag has a number on it.  We have a chart under the counter that says which numbers go into which section." The girl pointed at the ceilings "You can just use the signs to help you decide where things probably go.  If it says denim, then that is where you put jeans."

~Did you figure that out yourself? ~ "Great, doesn't sound too bad." Jess smiled and started to grab armfuls of clothes and dump it into a shopping cart.

            "Alright, I'll do ladies, and you can do men's.  If some one asks any questions just come find me if you don't know the answer."

            Jess nodded and took the cart down into the men's section.  It wasn't too hard to find where things went.  He checked the tags while he put things away to make sure that everything was in the right spot.  He frowned when he saw a table with shirts on it.  The shirts were all messy and some were lying on the floor.  Finally, Jess grabbed a shirt and folded it.  He looked at the shirts that were still folded.  ~How does anyone get shirts that neat?  They must have no spare time~ Jess frowned and tried again to fold the shirt, but it still didn't come out right.

            "Here's a little hint." A voice came from behind.  Jess jumped and spun around to see Ellie.  The blonde girl set the shirt on the table and slowly folded it, "It still looks messy but if you give it a little bit of a shake," The girl gently shook the shirt against her leg, "it comes out looking much neater" She set down the shirt and smiled.

            "It doesn't seem that busy right now.  I could probably call Rick and go back to working in the foods section." Jess replied.

            Ellie frowned, "No, you should see how busy it is in ladies and kids.  I actually came to ask if you wouldn't mind taking over ladies while I go clean up kids.  There are lots of customers in there and I can't leave it alone.  I've put everything away, so just help out the customers and pick up anything that finds its way to the floor"

            Jess sighed and nodded, slowly walking to the ladies section.  Ellie squeezed his arm thankfully and practically skipped away ~Boy, she gets happy easily~

            Slowly looking around, Jess noted that Ellie was right.  It was pretty busy with lots of ladies digging through the clothes.

            "Excuse me, young man." A little lady asked, "Would you mind helping me find some panty hose?"

            Jess looked up and noted the hosiery sign hanging from the ceiling, "Alright, I'll just show you where that is." Jess led her to the section with panty hose and was a bit overwhelmed by the sight ~why on earth do they need this many kinds of panty hose~

            The lady smiled, "I need to find one that is charcoal colored with sandal toes."

            Jess looked at the rows and began inspecting the boxes, "Let's see, they should be in here some where."  Jess saw a box that said charcoal on it and picked it up.  There was no mention of sandal toes but Jess showed it to the lady, "Will these do?"

            The lady squinted at the box and shook her head, "No, those aren't at all what I want."

            ~Does it really matter?  They'll probably rip the first time you put them on~ Jess continued to look at the boxes.  ~Control tops, sheer, back seam, how many kinds were there? ~ "Here's one" Jess grabbed a box triumphantly and showed it to her.

            "Perfect, how much is this box" The lady glanced at the price and winced, "Well I suppose the price is the price.  Thank you for your help, young man." The lady said before walking away.

            ~Finally, some one who appreciates my talents at being able to read boxes to find what they want~ Jess turned to walk back towards the change rooms when he felt some one grab my arm.

            "Where do you keep the men's bras?" A deep voice came.

            ~What the hell? ~ Jess turned to see the big man holding his arm, "I beg your pardon, sir?"

            "Bras for men, where do they keep them?" The man repeated in a whisper.

            ~Men wear bras? ~ "We have normal bras, but I think that's it." Jess answered uncertainly.

            "It figures.  You know that's sexual discrimination.  If I want to wear a bra I should be able to, shouldn't I?  I'm complaining.  This store will be shut down in days.  You'll be a out of a job, kid!" The man was shouting now. 

            ~Store shut down?  Out of a job?  Promise? ~  "Please calm down, sir." Jess looked around and saw many people staring.

            The man glared and dropped Jess' arm, retreating to the store exit.  Jess sighed and rubbed his eyes.  He was getting a headache working here.  Not only was he tired and frustrated, now everyone was staring at him.

            Finally Jess opened his eyes and returned to the change rooms.  He noticed that the rack was full again, and almost all of it was clothes from the women section.  Jess grabbed started to put shirts into his cart again.  Eventually he found a sweater.  Jess frowned and looked at it.  It could be either men's or ladies, he wasn't sure.  Jess looked at the tag to find the number.

            "What do you think you are doing?" A large lady yelled as she exited the change rooms. "How dare you look at the size of my clothes?"

            "I'm sorry ma'am, I was just trying to figure out which section it goes into." Jess said politely as he eyed the lady.  ~Better be nice, she could probably take me~

            "Are you implying that the clothes I wear isn't feminine?  It should be obvious that it is a ladies sweater!  Call your manager right now!  I want to talk to him!"

            Jess sighed and went behind the counter to the phone.  Twice in one week, customers demanded to speak to Rick.  Jess reached for the phone but it was grabbed from his hands.

            "What do you think you are doing?"  The lady shouted as she knocked the phone off of the counter.  It landed on the floor with a loud crack, "Do not think of talking to some one else when I'm not done with you yet!"

            Jess sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.  The lady was still yelling and his headache was getting worse.  Finally Jess opened his eyes, "I'm sorry ma'am.  I hope that I can make it up to you by offering you 10% off of your purchases today."

            The lady stopped in mid-rant and smiled, "That's more like it." The lady grabbed a few pairs of shirts and jeans and threw them into an already heaping cart.

            Jess winced as he led her to the cash registers.  Rick wouldn't be happy about this.  Then again, he'd probably be a lot happier than if the lady sued the store or something worse.  Jess explained to Collin, one of the cash registers, "Give her 10% off of her items."  Collin looked at Jess, obviously a bit confused.  Jess just shrugged and walked away.

            "Excuse me, but could my daughter wear some clothes out?" A middle-aged lady asked as Jess approached the change rooms.  Jess moaned.  He had been hoping to finish putting all the clothes away and not have to deal with any more customers.

            "I'm not sure about our policies.  This isn't my usual department.  If you don't mind, I'll just run and ask some one and be back in a few minutes."  The lady nodded and Jess turned and briskly walked towards the children's clothes.

            "Ellie!  What do I do if some one wants to wear clothes out?" Jess asked, slightly out of breath.

            "Just cut off the tags and escort them to the cash registers.  Make sure to tell them that they can't be wondering around the store while wearing the clothes." Ellie smiled and returned to the jeans she was folding.

            Jess half ran back to the change rooms, "Alright.  If you're done with everything you want to buy then I'll have to bring you to the cash"

            The lady smiled appreciatively, "Thanks, that's very sweet of you to hurry like that." The lady turned to the change rooms, "Hurry up princess, this nice boy is going to help us out!"

            Jess couldn't help but smile.  This ladies happiness seemed to be contagious.  Jess went to the counter and grabbed the scissors.  The girl came out in a pink sweater and blue pants.  Jess cut off the tags and led them to the cash.

            "Wait a second, honey.  There's a hole in the back of the sweater." The lady said, grabbing her daughter's shoulder.  She turned to Jess, "I really don't want to buy a sweater with a hole in it." 

            Jess nodded, " I can understand that."  ~I already cut of the tags?  You can't go around shopping for a new shirt now! ~

            "But this was the only sweater like it!  I like this one!  All of the others are ugly!" The girl complained, stomping her foot.

            "I don't care, I'm not buying a sweater with a hole in it!" The lady grabbed a purple sweater, "We'll get this one instead."

            "I don't want the purple one, I want the pink one!" The girl screamed.  She turned and ran back to the change rooms.  

            Jess turned and watched the girl go, and looked back to the mother. ~Who to stick with? ~  Finally Jess followed the girl the change rooms, she was the one wearing the stores property.  He stopped outside of the change rooms and turned to make sure that the mother was still following.  She stormed into the change room screaming.

            "It's my money!  I'm not buying a shirt with a hole in it!"

            "You never let me do anything that I want to.  I hate you mom!"

            ~What a spoiled brat~ Jess backed up so that he was behind the counter.  He didn't want to appear to be eves dropping.  He rubbed his temples; his headache was getting worse again.  ~That's it.  I'm never dealing with people again. ~

            It took fifteen minutes for the mother and daughter to re-emerge from the change rooms. The girl was dressed in the original clothes and the mother dropped the purple sweater on the counter.

            "We're going with the pink one." The mother said as she stormed towards the cash.  The girl sniffed and wiped her nose.

            "Collin, they're wearing the clothes out." Jess dropped the tags onto the counter "This one's for the shirt, and this is for the pants." Jess turned and left.

            "Jess, you can go work in foods for the rest of the night.  Ellie's got things under control now.  You did a good job in men's, if you'd like we could make it a permanent position." Rick laughed.

            ~Make it my permanent position and there will be head rolling down these stupid halls~ Jess groaned, "No, please don't."

            Rick seemed to thing Jess was joking and laughed, slapping Jess on the back, "You're a good kid, you know?  Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow would be your first day of cash training."

            Jess watched Rick walk away and sighed.  He knew everyone had to get cash training but he wasn't looking forward to it.  That meant he'd have to deal with customers even more.

            The day dragged on for what seemed like forever before Jess' shift was over.  He headed upstairs and took his coat out from his locker.

            "You seemed to visit cash a lot today." Collin said from the couch he was sitting on, "What was going on?"

            Jess sighed, "I just decided that I'd make you're day busier."

            Collin laughed, "I hear you're doing cash tomorrow.  Good luck."

            Jess glared and left, making sure to swipe out on his way down.  Tomorrow would not be a good day.

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Probably not as much as you'd all like about bras, but I was having trouble working it into the story.  I didn't want to have our boy spending all day in the bra section.  If you want to see Jess working cash let me know.  This means he has to deal with even more irritated customers.  Thanks for all of the nice reviews; it's what makes doing this worthwhile.  I'm sorry that I took so long to continue the story but I had real problems getting it started.


End file.
